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dislocated sholder

showlow50

Full Member
Full Member
Minuteman
Jun 22, 2010
204
3
73
AZ,navajo country
Hey guys I need some advice, fell down some ice covered steps and dislocated my sholder. Went to ER and they put it back in. Went to ortopedic doctor and he said to leave arm in sling for 3 weeks and come back for check up and excercize program. It has been 5 days now. My question is for those that have had this injury what can I do for 3 weeks to keep my mobility from going down hill. I have a pistol match Jan the 28th that I want to be ready for. It is a pistol match. Thanks for your help.
 
Re: dislocated sholder

I'd give it 5-7 days after the relocation then start some range of motion exercises
NO WEIGHT!!!
Start off facing forward , walk your hand up a wall with your fingers then back down , then turn side ways and do the same thing , don't go higher than your head
Let is rest several min. Slowly Raise your arm strait out and hold it level for as long as possible then do it again to the side , give a couple min break then repeat , do this the sets several times a day
 
Re: dislocated sholder

The info above is pretty good but make sure for the first while to only do range of motion stuff. I had the same injury a few years back and did not pay attention to the docs. and just kept on working and lifting weights and the end up was a major should surgery.

It was weak and drove it out of place a second time tearing up most everything you can. It took almost a year to get full range of motion after the surgery.
 
Re: dislocated sholder

If you tore anything, DO NOT SET YOURSELF UP FOR A "frozen shoulder". No weights early on but move it walk the wall anything a therapist suggests.,,kkep it moving. I Had a frozen shoulder, not fun to break loose. Beeen there done that. Good Luck, I now have about 95 ROM after 12 years.
 
Re: dislocated sholder

I am thankfull for the advice i have been recieving from the forum, i had a idea there were others out there that had gone thru the same accident and would have some good advice. I am 61 and the doctor said if i let the scare tissue form and don't tear it it should not give me any trouble. I just don't want to lose my range of motion. I love 3gun and want to stay active.
 
Re: dislocated sholder

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: showlow50</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> the doctor said if i let the scare tissue form and don't tear it it should not give me any trouble. </div></div>

That's terrible advise !! Find another Dr pronto

Any scar tissue is only going to cause you trouble down the road , this is why alot of people gave deep tissue massage and facial release treatments after injuries and surgery where a fair bit of muscle is damaged
It's doubtfull (but possible) that you could have muscle damage from a simple dislocation and their should not have been any ligiments or tendons torn , more just stretched and now swollen and inflamed.
Use a good analgesic and massage your whole shoulder (3 delt heads) and do the range of motion exercises mentioned above ,
do not use any weight
Do not jerk or throw your shoulder into motion (slow and steady)
Ice the whole shoulder after your range of motion exercises.

I use Absorbine Gel for horses as an analgesic and find it to work better than anything and it doesent smell to bad or burn , most feed stores that have horse care products will have it (bout $15 a bottle)
Being in your 60's I'm sure you know what DMSO is and how well it works , if you use that make sure your put on rubber gloves first !! They actualy make a roll on now like deodorant
 
Re: dislocated sholder

Wow, wish anyone would've given me the info on how soon I could do range of motion exercises after I dislocated my shoulder. I'm amazed at the range of motion I have now really (I'd say 85-90%) without surgery. That took like 6 mos of work on my own to get there though.
 
Re: dislocated sholder

Take care of that shoulder....it has taken me over a year and a half to bring my shoulder back on my own from a torn rotator- I avoided surgery so far but it was difficult to say the least. I never realized how complex shoulders were.
 
Re: dislocated sholder

Thanks again guys, the doctor looked at my xrays and said that I did have torn ligiments and muscle damage. If i am going to screw up i do it big time.
 
Re: dislocated sholder

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: showlow50</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> the doctor looked at my xrays and said that I did have torn ligiments and muscle damage. </div></div>

Did you have just an X-ray ??
If yes then do your self a tremendous favor and get a second opinion as you can't see soft tissue damage from a X-ray
If you do have repairable ligament and muscle damage and you put it off scar tissue WILL form and WILL cause you issues down the road.

I've dislocated both my shoulders at separate times , fractured my clavicle one of those times , have torn rotator cuff if left should and have had left shoulder scoped once and right shoulder scoped twice.
It took asecond shoulder dislocation for me to realize some Dr's are just fucking lazy quacks
Modern orthopedics is far to good to allow anybody to NOT make a 100% recovery
 
Re: dislocated sholder

If you dislocated your shoulder you definitely tore some of the the ligaments comprising the shoulder joint capsule. The first thing that you need to do is allow those to heal adequately before you start applying stress to the joint. These ligaments will heal by forming "scar tissue" - the normal response of healing all injuries of this nature. So yes you want scar tissue to form. What you don't want is excess scar tissue to form. The key is to rest the joint long enough for adequate healing to occur before you start loading the joint. That takes around 3-6 weeks. If you overload it too soon you will end up with a loose joint which chronically dislocates. If you don't rehab it properly through range of motion and strength training AFTER the initial healing period you will end up with excessive scar tissue which will limit the range of motion of your shoulder. I strongly suggest you follow the recommendations of your orthopedic surgeon. Don't overdo it too soon! Don't do more than you are told especially the first 3 weeks. Then get into a good monitored rehab program with a good physical therapist and follow their directions.
 
Re: dislocated sholder

I thought I was just coming onto this forum for tips & info on long range shooting...but this place impresses me more & more each day.

The wealth of knowledge that everyone has is great. Some great info & some to weed through, but all interesting.

I would've thought your physician would have ordered an MRI to check the extent of soft tissue damage to see what was really required to fix & rehab your shoulder. But, I'm definitely no doctor...so I know nothing.
smile.gif


(Years ago) While swimming underwater I heard two short tears & one long tear from the top & back of my left shoulder joint, then had my shoulder ball come out of its socket & dropped about 6 inches down my side. First instinct was to pull my elbow close into my rib cage & hold it there while getting out of the water. Well, when I drew my elbow in, the ball went right back in its socket. Was several weeks before I could hang my arm limp and then try & move it back behind my hip. I slowly worked it myself and babied it for a while. Today, like I said before, I have terrific mobility. Everything I'd read about what happened to me says that I should have had surgery to correct what happened. I failed to get medical assistance and figured I could handle it on my own. I got VERY lucky.

I'd take it very easy on healing with that shoulder. I was 24 when I injured mine, and I know that even at 36 I don't heal as quickly or as well as I used to.
 
Re: dislocated sholder

Just be extremely careful and take it easy. I did something to my shoulder while benching one day and then a little later (weeks) I thought I could try benching again but the same thing happened and I was put out of commission for months. Moral of the story, take your time and let it heal because, trust me, you do NOT want to reinjure it.
 
Re: dislocated sholder

Recurrent dislocation is a function of age (thus your age is critical)
Age at first dislocation below 20 years old has a 90 % recurrence rate. Thus the older you are at first time dislocation, the lower is the rate of recurrence.
There is no medical evidence that any form of immpbilization prevents recurrent dislocation as per the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surg. eventhough many doctors still immpbilize the shouder afrter a dislocation.
MRI in general is needed in the older population >60 to assess the rotator dcurr which in this broup has a higher rate of tear and would be ordered with persistent shoulder muscle weakness after 6 weeks of observation.
A bone rim fracture of the socket (called a bony Bankart lesion) can be seen on Xray and in younger active people would be an indication for surgery. Most older people do nt need surgery because their problem is not recurrent dislocation, but rather shoulder stiffness
Motion is a good idea...because since as noted above the recurrent dislocatins need surgery anyway and no method of immobilization has been shown to prevent recurrence especially in the younger person.. Much Less chande of recurrence over 40 years of age...
FWIW